Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) Shares Sold by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp reduced its holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,311,147 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 430,492 shares during the period. Canadian Natural Resources comprises approximately 1.1% of Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Canadian Natural Resources were worth $163,403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Canadian Natural Resources during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 158.3% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 997 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 253.2% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,307 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,493 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC increased its position in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 104.0% during the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. 74.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Canadian Natural Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. National Bankshares restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a report on Friday, July 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:CNQ opened at $31.71 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.40. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $37.91.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) (TSE:CNQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.14 billion. Canadian Natural Resources had a net margin of 16.92% and a return on equity of 20.90%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.4227 dividend. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resources’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Canadian Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Canadian Natural Resources Company Profile

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).